Maelstrom: Sequel to In The Dragon's Den
by Heihachi-Katayama
Summary: Just when they thought everything was over, the boss of Badger and the others appears, demanding to have his servants back. Meanwhile, the sohmas uncover a dark secret when Akito's will leads them to find some sacred journals. WILL NOT BE CONTINUED!
1. Prologue

**Maelstrom : Sequel to In The Dragon's Den**

**Just when they thought everything was over, the boss of Badger and the others appears, demanding to have his servants back. Meanwhile, the sohmas uncover a dark secret when Akito's will leads them to find some sacred journals. After this discovery, the sohmas are targeted by an unknown enemy. Question is, is it an act of persuasion, or of revenge?**

Hey guys! I only have two days left of school (one week) so I am quite excited to say that once all these stupid finals are over, I'll be on pretty often! Isn't that great? And yes, your plans to get rid of me failed…sorry!

I was listening to some Taylor Swift and Chris Daughtry(sp) songs as well as "Never Shall We Die" and "Hoist the Sails" from the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 while writing the Prologue. These are really interesting to listen to this prologue as you

Oh yes, and this story will be far darker than In The Dragon's Den (though I think just the title can tell you that much). It really will deserve its T rating, but it will not reach M. And don't worry – I don't write yaoi, yuri, or really anything sexual. My main reasons for the T rating are for blood, dark themes, death, suicidal moments, and other…well, dark stuff. Sounds fun, doesn't it? (evil grin)

ANYWAY, before my dark side tries to take over the world like it has every day so far, let's get started!

**LINE BREAK**

**mael·strom** _(māl'strəm)_

n.

1. A whirlpool of extraordinary size or violence.

2. A violent or turbulent situation: '_caught in the maelstrom of war_.'

**LINE BREAK**

**PROLOGUE**

Freedom was only a breath away,

But that breath had long since faded into the night.

He could feel it…no, _sense _it.

The answer to everything;

To his life,

To their future,

To _everything _lay before him…

Yet he was unable to reach it.

How pathetic.

Nothing but cold stone remained to greet him as he was led back to his temporary home.

And what a nice home it was! Stone floors, plain grey walls, a couple inches of mattress in the far corner, a sink which only seemed to work for a few minutes every couple hours, all complimented by thick black bars.

It was enough to drive anyone to the point of insanity. Yet, it was his home.

And somehow, he liked it.

Though, he admitted, the guards were pretty boring folk. Always just standing there by those decorative bars, staring as if in some trance. He had tried to start a conversation multiple times, but they would never say more than "My orders are not to talk to dirty prisoners" or, as that rather rude guard the other day had tried instead, "Shut up or I'll send in the hounds."

Geez, talk about no manners.

And worse, there was nothing fun to do here! No paint to graffiti the walls with, no children to scare, and worse than that –

There weren't even rats to torture. There were plenty of bugs, but those simply don't scream loud enough for his enjoyment.

Really, he would have to talk to the Manager about that when he met him.

**BOOM!**

He didn't even bother to look up at the explosion – it was probably just someone trying to escape again. They would be caught in no time, and then probably tortured until any thoughts of escape were long gone.

Would those fools ever learn?

**BOOOOM!**

He grinned to himself. They were going all out today!

Last time they had been this eager, someone had stuck in a small pack of fireworks and set them all off in the courtyard.

Everyone got pretty badly beat up by the torturers, but it had been worth it for the looks on the faces of the guards.

Man, were those guys easy to annoy!

**BOOOOOOM!**

He frowned slightly, hearing an odd cracking sound accompanying the explosion. Cautiously backing up a bit against the bed, he waited, tense with expectation.

What a good choice that was.

Barely a minute later, the entire ceiling collapsed. With his new position, he was able to throw himself under the mattress just as the rubble came pouring down.

He suddenly found himself thankful that he was on the top floor.

The mattress managed to shield him from the worst of the damage, and he was soon able to squeeze out of the rubble. Standing on what used to be a sink, he looked around at his new surroundings.

He was now alone on the new roof of the three story building, gazing out at a bright red setting sun, sending crimson rays over the destroyed building. Whatever had attacked it had long gone.

He would have to remember to send them flowers.

In the meantime, there were more important things to do. Like getting revenge on those who put him in jail and reuniting with his team.

Better yet, why not do both at once?

'Ah yes,' he thought with a grin. 'The game has just begun. Why end before you have played it through?'

**To Be Continued**

Man, that guy is kinda like the Joker from those Batman series, isn't he? I can't say I meant to do that…but at least I know now that I can play a mean Joker!

I was originally going to combine the prologue and chapter 1, but seeing as this is a bit longer than I thought it would be, I think it is probably long enough to post separately

And yes, I AM working on Corrupted Hearts as well! As I've said before, I don't know where I am going with that one, so I'm a bit hesitant with the next chapter.

Now then, I really have to get back to working on my hw…I have two tests, two essays (one is 4-6 pages, the other is 2-3), plus all the regular work to do in this short weekend! And to make it harder, I also have an all day horse show.

Woo hoo, no sleep! :-P

On that note, I'm going to go work on some of this stuff like I should have probably been doing instead of writing this chapter. (sheepish smile) He he, I like fanfiction **way** too much obviously.

Stay tuned! Next week is my last week of school, and after that I should be writing all the time!

Stay tuned, and I hope you liked this prologue to Maelstrom!

Please review,

HK


	2. C1: The Escapee

Hey guys! I'm sorry for the late update! My life has just been insane lately…also, as you can tell, I got pretty carried away with this chapter. I had planned to end it after the flashback, but then ideas just kept coming and I just kept writing and – well, this is what you get.

So anyway, as you know, this fic is called Maelstrom. It isn't just called this 'cause it sounds cool, but also because it will contain 'reincarnations' from Norse mythology. I thought it would be really cool to have the boss and his higher ups to all be based on certain myths. I will try to explain this as best as I can throughout the story, but here is a list of the characters who I used these myths to help create, and all the Norse mythology characters and creatures they are named by:

Boss – Níðhöggr (a dragon who dwells beneath the roots of The World Tree, Yggdrasil)

Boss's assistant – unnamed eagle (Veðrfölnir, the hawk, sat on the eyes of an unnamed eagle, just as Hawk will have something to do with the boss's assistant.)

The Boss's elite guards - Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór (the four stags who munched on the branches of The World Tree)

Hawk – Veðrfölnir (this hawk sat on the eyes of the unnamed eagle. Lindow says about him, "presumably the hawk is associated with the wisdom of the eagle" and "perhaps, like Odin's ravens, it flies off acquiring and bringing back knowledge.")

The General – Ratatoskr (The squirrel who carries messages between Níðhöggr and the unnamed eagle)

Also, while this story will mainly focus on the Boss and his gang, Shigure, Hatori, Yuki, and the others will play a large part later in the story.

Now then, lets start chapter 1!

_**Previously:**_

…Standing on what used to be a sink, he looked around at his new surroundings.

He was now alone on the new roof of the three story building, gazing out at a bright red setting sun, sending crimson rays over the destroyed building. Whatever had attacked it had long gone.

He would have to remember to send them flowers.

In the meantime, there were more important things to do. Like getting revenge on those who put him in jail and reuniting with his team.

Better yet, why not do both at once?

'Ah yes,' he thought with a grin. 'The game has just begun. Why end before you have played it through?'

**Chapter One: The Escapee**

_Loneliness is a curious creature._

_She thrives in the darkest of places, and eats such delicacies as hope and dreams out of only the purest souls. Yet, this act is considered to be so harsh – so painful – that she is considered to be a monster of sorts, one even the devil himself cannot control._

_Loneliness is also best friends with fear, heartbreak, butterflies, and the often overpowering sensation of realizing how small you are compared to the world around you, and often invites them over for tea and snacks. In fact, while it is unproven as of yet, many believe that loneliness is the number 1 reason for suicides, and as such, she has been exiled from countless hearts._

_Even so, she is the kind who never gives up, and has still snuck into the souls of those weakened by a recent trauma or by one of the many friends of hers. Once she has entered, she can cause devastating effects, and while the cure is simple, it isn't always easy to obtain or use. Even those who manage to overcome loneliness are often troubled by side effects to her temporary reign – and if they ever get infected again, they may be impossible to cure._

_Loneliness herself can be gained by many circumstances, but usually by either loosing something precious to you or perhaps, from you pushing those around you away from yourself._

_Perhaps the worst thing about Loneliness's effects is that they not only linger throughout one's life in a creeping shadow, but that they also can easily appear again if the earlier event which triggered her arrival happens again. If such a thing happens, the person could very easily be lost the realm of emotions._

Raven paused in his reading, twirling his pen as he tried to think of a good way to phrase his next point. Shigure had shown him the real benefits of writing, and while some of his examples were not very pleasant, he had gotten hooked on writing out all of his adventures. Currently, his writings could easily fill a shed, and he had to buy 6 oversized filing cabinets just to hold them.

Though, he had to give the dog some credit for giving him a chance to vent. A person can only hold so much in before they have to share it, and as he was not a very social man, this was the perfect way to keep himself under his limits.

Of course, all this venting forced him to dig into his memories, and as some were tightly locked away, it was rather hard to complete certain pages. Even the less guarded ones were difficult to think about, especially since he _knew_ from them how his friends, namely Wolf, used to be.

And that was painful on its own.

_**Start Flashback**_

"_What is HE doing here again? I thought he got fired last week."_

"_Nah, Boss decided to give him a second chance…personally, I don't think he's worth it."_

"_Give him a break, guys!"_

_Raven watched silently as the team argued, watching the man who they were complaining about out of the corner of his eye. Said man seemed quite content to drink his coffee and watch a dog which was savagely attacking a bone on the street, but Raven was quite sure that he was listening in as well._

"_Why should we? I mean, what does he even do, anyway?!? He's just a piece of trash! Forget about being fired, he should be tortured! I heard they got a new collection of knives last week-"_

"_Cut it out!" Raven noted with interest that the only one defending the man was indeed Chipmunk, who had been nearly torn apart by words alone when he had joined the group. "Stop doing this!"_

"_And why should we?" One of the men, probably the leader, turned to Chipmunk with a nasty glint in his eye. "Better yet, why should we listen to you? It seems that he has no problem with being called a wimp – you shouldn't either."_

"_But-"_

"_Stop this childish quarrel now, or so help me I will personally make it impossible for either of you to ever talk again!" The team and Chipmunk both cringed at the new voice (the other man suddenly seemed to be very interested in a packet of sugar) and turned to see the one of the few men who worked directly for The Boss, and who was in charge of all the groups;_

_The General had arrived, and he did not look happy. _

_As if a bullet had been shot just above their heads, everyone in the room hastily bowed._

_The man kept drinking his coffee, his head bowed in recognition of his superior._

_The team growled in annoyance at this, but one look from the General immediately silenced them. Raven smiled from his spot on the floor. About time they were taught some manners!_

_The General left after shooting the cruel team one more harsh warning look. The team themselves were quite content to bolt for the doors the minute he disappeared from their site._

_Raven stood, dusting himself off, before addressing the man, who was pouring himself another cup of coffee._

"_Why do you not stop them, Wolf?" Raven asked curiously._

_Wolf turned to him with a smile,_

"_Because they don't have a life to love."_

_**End Flashback**_

To this day, Raven still pondered those words uttered by Wolf, but he could not figure out what he had meant – and he was sure asking the older man now would not get him any answers, as it was clear Wolf had been hit hard by the events from just months earlier.

Wolf had opened up from his quiet nature while being a part of their group, and while Raven had been good friends with him, it was clear all his devotion was towards Badger. He couldn't imagine what Wolf was going through now with his reason for living gone.

While the Sohmas seemed to have recovered from the events with no, or in some cases, minor scars, Raven and Wolf had both been faced with a tough decision. They knew that, as the only members left from the squad, they would either have to return to base and form a new team or be hunted and eventually destroyed. Despite being lower members, they both knew too much to be let lose.

And anyway, the motto of the gang was "Destroy, or be Destroyed," so it was no surprise that with something as "devoted" as their motto, no one refused orders.

Well, almost no one.

Raven and Wolf had both developed a deep hatred for the gang for their hurting of innocent people (Hatori, Yuki, ect) and for not caring about the deaths of their own (Hawk, Badger). The two had sworn to each other that no matter what happened, they would never return to such vile people.

But, of course, they just might not have a choice. Their Boss was not happy about them leaving, that much they were sure.

'…And in other news, the prison on Sakura Way has been attacked by what is believed to be terroists.'

Raven blinked and looked up – since when was his tv on?

He shook his head and stood, about to turn it off, when something on the tv caught his eye. They were listing names of the missing prisoners, but wasn't that…oh no, there was no way!

Raven leaned in towards the tv and concentrated on the images flashing on the screen of the remains of the prison. He seemed fairly neutral until the name of the prison shyly flickered to life on the screen, at which point he nearly tipped over onto the table.

_Not him…_

_ANYONE but him…_

_But…this place…Tokugawa Prison…_

_Home of the devil…and…Him…_

_Mitsaku Karona…_

_Hawk._

_**End Of Chapter**_

So…that was pretty long…wow….(is dazed)

I hope that the whole Norse Mythical Creatures thing makes sense…even if it doesn't, I think that once those characters are introduced things will get easier to understand. Please don't hesitate to pm me if you have any questions about this though.

Also, I am sorry that my writing started to get a little messy at the end. I realized it was 4 pages already and I was nowhere close to being done, so it was like "Whoa…I NEED to stop!" You know?!?

But look at the bright side, most of the writing was in the chapter rather than the author's notes this time! Hurrah!

I don't think I have a lot else to add, other than that:

Yes, Hawk is alive

And

No, Badger is not alive.

Hawk and "the unnamed eagle" will be further explained later as well. I did a TON of research on Norse Mythology before and while writing this fic, so that should help…

I am also thinking of having a guide on my profile. Let me know if this would help you at all.

Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you continue to tune in and enjoy Maelstrom!

HK


	3. C2: Greetings From The Land Of Freedom

I apologize, yet again, for the late update…but it's ok! NeitherAngelNorDevil kicked my sorry butt back into work again (darn you for updating your story! lol), so at risk of my life and possibly the wellbeing of my horse, here's an update! Huzzah!

Now we're even, NeitherAngelNorDevil!

Oh, and I wanted to add that I have noticed the spelling and grammar mistakes from the previous chapters. Once this story is finished, I promise to fix those (after, of course, fixing In The Dragon's Den). I hope you can ignore them for now.

_**Previously:**_

_We find out a little more about Raven's and Wolf's past, though the meaning of this event is unknown._

_Raven hears some bad news. _

_**Maelstrom: Chapter 2**_

"Hawk? Didn't he die back there?"

Raven let out an exasperated sigh.

"Did you already forget? Badger missed his heart, so Hawk got arrested instead. It seems that the boss found him to be too valuable to leave behind."

"So in otherwords, Boss broke him out of there, and now we are bound to be in some serious trouble if they ever find us."

"Correct…"

"Should we let the sohmas know?"

"And bring them even deeper into our problems? I hardly think that's fair…they already lost the head of their family. Let them sort that out, and if Hawk tells Boss about them, then we can take defensive measures. Until then, stay in hiding. We can't meet too often, so consider this our last until they start to move."

"Right. What do you think we should we do about Her?"

"Keep an eye on her for now. I'm going to look through the old base. There might be something that can help us there."

"I thought it was destroyed when Boss moved…"

"Probably, but it's worth a try. I wouldn't mind visiting my hometown again anyway."

There was a slight pause, then Raven spoke again.

"Stay safe, and keep in touch. I don't want to see another accident occur."

"That goes for you too."

Wolf listened blankly for the beep as Raven hung up, before resting his head on his crossed arms with a drawn out sigh. "I need a vacation…"

**-Changing Scene- (Watch your head!)**

"Stupid cat."

"Damn rat."

"Now, now, you two…we're in an airplane. I'm afraid this isn't a very good place to fight."

"The clouds are so beautiful!"

"Tohru, that's not a cloud."

"…Oh."

"Yuki! Let us share this gorgeous moment together as brothers!"

"I have a better idea. How about we see if you can fly with those ugly wings of yours?"

"Ayame has wings? Really?!? Cool!"

"…Hey Kyo, what do you think of my drawing?"

"Hmph, it's ok…"

"Yay!"

"Settle down. The plane is about to land."

"Ha'ri! You came back to us at last! I thought you had died, sitting there so still! You didn't answer me, and-"

"Shigure, we have been on the plane for over 11 hours (1). Normal people use this time to sleep."

"You're so harsh to me, Ha'ri…"

**-Changing Scene Again- (DUCK!!)**

"So…why are we in America anyway?"

"Stupid cat. Didn't you listen to Shigure? We are going because Hatori has some sort of medical talk to go to, and that dog decided it would be fun to tag along."

"…I knew that."

Hatori sighed wearily, glancing at Shigure, who was walking along merrily beside him. "You realize I only did this to shut you up, right?"

Shigure just grinned before turning to the group behind them. "Alright, break it up. Yuki, Kyo, Haru, Aya, and myself will go get the luggage. Tohru and Momiji, you go with Hatori to get the car."

"Why does he have to come along?" Yuki made a sound much like a hoarse sigh, clearly referring to Ayame. Said older brother, on the other hand, seemed delighted.

Shigure shrugged, "I need the tough guys to help me (this earned him many baffled looks from certain members of the group), and since Ha'ri was supposed to come here alone, he could use a break (more confused looks and one very satisfied one followed)."

With a few more minor complaints, the groups split up to do their assigned tasks. A little while later, they met up, only to find that Hatori apparently had a very good taste in cars.

"WE GET TO RIDE IN A LIMO?!?"

Tohru promptly fainted as the said limo pulled up to the curb, glistening in the street lights.

Hatori resisted the urge to roll his eyes, as it would not be very professional. "That is not the case here. I get the limo, since I'm the one who is actually here for a reason. You get that."

A plain white van pulled up behind the limo. Upon closer inspection, they found that the paint was peeling and the wheels rusted. All in all, Shigure was quite convinced that it would fall apart under its own weight at any moment.

"But Ha'ri-" Shigure stopped mid-complaint, only to realize that the doctor and his limo had already vanished. With a sigh, he walked over to the van and opened the driver's door, wincing at a foul smell emitting from the seats. "Well…home sweet home, everyone."

"…This sucks."

For once, Yuki agreed with Kyo.

_**End Of Chapter**_

This is not my best writing, and I am aware and very, very sorry about that! I'm going to be a freshman in high school, and to add to that I've been homeschooled for the last few years AND I have horses to take care of and shows to attend. Not the easiest schedule to balance, if I do say so myself. And shall I add, not the least stressful.

But hey, I did update! That counts for something, right?

I am also aware that this is probably a tad bit confusing right now. I have a faint idea of what I am going to do, but it's not as clear as it should be, so this is rather difficult to sort out. I hope that I will be able to explain things, but if not, please pm me or leave any questions in your review. I will get back to you right away. If you do not have an account, leave questions anyway! I'll answer them as part of the next chapter.

With that, I say farewell! I hope you continue to enjoy Maelstrom, as well as my other stories.

-HK

(1) – I looked up a flight from Los Angeles, CA to Tokyo, Japan, and then compared it to an estimate of one to San Francisco (there are no flights from San Francisco to Japan, but let's just pretend like there are…k?).


	4. C3: The Lost Tomb Of The Tourists

**Previously:**

Raven decides to travel back to the old base to find information on Hawk and anything related.

Wolf desperately needs a vacation (hugs are great too)

And the Sohmas arrive in America

_**Maelstrom Chapter 3: The Lost Temple Of The Tourists**_

"Wow! It's so big!" Tohru exclaimed, twirling around their shared hotel suite. Akito had given Hatori a surprising amount of money, and to thank Shigure for saving his life, he had used it to book the writer a weeklong stay in a very fancy hotel. It was supposed to be for the two of them, but when Tohru and the others had begged for the chance to get away, he hadn't been able to say no. After all, Kyo had been in the same situation as himself, Yuki had quite possibly the worst of it, and none of them wanted to leave Tohru by herself. He allowed Momiji to come, as he had also had a huge scare. As for the others, all he knew was that Ayame had threated to lock himself in Shigure's suitcase, and Haru had apparently snuck in the car overnight.

And so, the 8 of them were to share the suite, as the hotel had already been overbooked. They had already decided that Hatori and Momiji would share one of the two bedrooms, while Tohru would take the smaller. Shigure and Yuki immediately claimed the couches, leaving Kyo, Haru, and Ayame to rough it out on the floor.

The suite consisted of two bedrooms – one of which had two beds, a small walk-in closet, and a huge bathroom with all the fixings, while the other was much simpler with one bed, a large dresser, and another huge bathroom – a large living room, a fully stocked kitchen with many appliances that Hatori could not even begin to name, one more bathroom, and a dining room with a table that could easily eat Shigure's own and still have room for dessert. Oh, and did I mention a balcony with such stunning views that Tohru had nearly fainted upon seeing, giving the views the nickname 'Envisioning Death'. All in all, it was huge.

Haru nodded at the girl's words, slowly made his way over to a couch, and plopped straight down onto the cushioned material. It was clear that he would not be moving any day soon.

With renewed vigor, the others all began to explore the spacious room.

---Meanwhile, in the Bat Cave! …Wait, We have no bat cave? No wonder why this story is getting hardly any reviews! Geesh! Talk about low budget!---

Raven yawned lazily as he made his way through the airport, his feet sliding along the floor like the couch potato he usually is. At least, when he's not busy shooting down cursed people and avoiding messed up zombies.

((If you do not get this reference, you may want to read In The Dragon's Den, Maelstrom's prequel))

He grabbed his bags and made his way out the main door and into the wilderness –okay, maybe not, but it is pretty close-. Raven signaled a taxi and jumped in the yellow frame, nearly falling asleep from the car's rocking motion. The vehicle rolled off the curb (the driver was new and apparently had not seen it) and onto the busy road, passing under a large and very bright sign.

_San Francisco International Airport_

**--End Of Chapter—**

Brief and short, but at least I updated…right?

I promise this story will have a ton of action, but before I can do that I have to get through all the boring scenes. When Raven visits the hideout (which should be about a couple chapters away) the story will really start to kick into gear. And yes, all of the sohmas who came will get involved this time, not just Yuki, Shigure, and Hatori. Kyo will have a bigger part this time as well.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy Maelstrom! See you soon!

-HK


	5. C4: Over And Over And Over Again

**Previously:**

The Sohmas discover what benefits having a good and especially kind doctor in the family can have,

And Raven arrives in California.

_**Chapter 4: Over And Over And Over Again**_

--- 5 years ago ---

A tall black boot emerged from a matching car, followed by a large form in a black sweater and jeans.

"Raven."

The man turned to his left, eyeing his comrade carelessly. Wolf's eyes briefly flashed with concern, but the emotion quickly vanished to be replaced with a calm, placid expression.

"What?"

"Oh…nothing, let's go. You know the details, right?"

Raven nearly snorted in amusement. What details? The job was plain murder – to end the life of an innocent young girl, the daughter of a rich merchant who had been selling weapons to their enemy. The mission was pure revenge – pure massacre.

What kind of details did that require?

Instead, he answered Wolf gruffly, "Yes, I know of the details."

"Good." Wolf replied as he started his way toward the mansion. There was no reason to sneak in – most of the guards were out on a fake emergency – so they walked right up to the front door, picked the lock, and drifted in. With their dark clothes and stormy expressions, they were not hard to distinguish as the murders they were.

The house was empty – filled instead with dead silence. They had expected to find some maids or something, and this lack of anything was rather unsettling. Nevertheless, they started up a set of creaky stairs to where the girl's room suppositively was.

It wasn't hard to distinguish it – after all, it was the only bright pink and glittery door in the entire country. Wolf reached to his belt, quietly cocking his gun, as Raven entered the room. They had expected this mission to be particularly difficult and possibly even require an extra round of drinks tonight. They had not, however, expected this.

An eight year old darted up to them, hugging Raven's legs tightly as she sobbed.

"Daddy! Oh , daddy! Help me! Daddy!"

When the initial shock faded, they could finally see a dark red stain on the front of her shirt. It was expanding rapidly.

"Daddy! Please, daddy!"

Her cries were becoming more and more blurred. Gradually, her hand slid down, before she finally slumped at his feet.

She was dead before she hit the ground.

---Current Times---

Raven shuddered as the flashback hit him, his shoulders finally relaxing when the memory passed.

He had expected to battle ghosts of his past, but not like that. Even his Boss was easier to deal with than those memories. He flinched as a loud cry echoed through the yard.

He was alone, but apparently the ghosts were still around.

Dark eyes gazed apprehensively at the door, eyeing the doorknob with a mutual distaste. He had promised himself many times before to never come back here. Dark memories were only a heartbeat away. But it was his only chance to stop Hawk before he tried anything.

His feet found the steps. His hand found the cool metal. And his head found another lost moment in time.

---7 years ago---

Raven opened the door and jumped in, expecting to find his group there. Instead, there was utter silence. Slightly creeped out, he shut the door behind him and took a step into the room – only to leap back into the doorframe with a cry of alarm as the lights flew on and the gang jumped out behind various couches.

"Surprise!"

Melissa, Wolf's wife, grinned as she led the stunned man to a table, which was covered in gunpowder. Glitter hurt Badger's eyes too much, she had explained, so they had to stick with the shiny powder. A huge cake decorated with what looked like an assortment of knives lain in the center, surrounded by a design of bullets with little metal shard roses.

What looked suspiciously like a firecracker was balanced in the cake's center, and a flamethrower sat next to the junkyard sweet, just waiting to light it.

It was a very creative cake, but he couldn't help but wonder if it was actually edible.

They had decided to do presents first, only to realize that no one had actually brought presents since they had a mission earlier that day and had no time to go home. Melissa was the only one with a gift – a beautiful set of sharp hunting knifes which he would use constantly through the next few years.

Someone had supplied a nearly endless pile of cheap wine and beer, so by the time they got to the cake they were all dead drunk. This was probably why no one realized that the gunpowder would be a problem.

All in all, it was a great day.

---Current Times---

'But maybe not such a great night' Raven smiled as his eyes found the charred section of the wall – they had decided not to fix the entire thing since they wanted a chance to remember it.

His eyes clouded over in pain again as he thought about them, before reminding himself that Wolf and Hawk were still here, even if they were corrupted.

There was still a chance.

Raven was so lost in memory lane that he did not notice when a shadow appeared on the doorstep. He didn't even hear the small click as a gun was set – ready to fire.

---END OF CHAPTER---

Alright – so now we are just starting to get into the plot. I wasn't sure if I really explained this or not, but he is just entering the house where the hideout is, well, hidden.

Anyway, let me know if you have any questions, if you are dying to see more, or even if you want me to jump off a cliff. Either way, at least I'll get an idea of how I'm doing.

Thanks for reading, and please enjoy Maelstrom!

-HK


	6. C5: Always Before, Never Again

**Previously:**

Raven takes a walk down memory lane, unaware that he is being watched.

_**Chapter 5: Always Before, Never Again**_

The dull creaking of a rusty hinge invited Raven into the next room. What he once knew to be a beautiful indoor garden now looked more like a potted graveyard. Shards of ceramic were scattered all over the floor, decorated with unrecognizable dead plants. Interestingly enough, there was one plant that was not only alive, it even looked like it was watered earlier that day. It was small, with dark stems and a huge unopened crimson bud. He frowned slightly as his senses kicked into overdrive – awakened by the suspicious sign, but sensed no one around and simply made his way back out of the room.

He explored a few more rooms – all of which were either covered in layers of dust, completely trashed, or some were too dark to really look around them anyway – before coming to the last door. It was already open – almost as if it had been waiting for him. A long staircase spanned out before him, spiraling down into the darkness below.

He took one last look behind him before starting his descent into the bleak.

---Meanwhile with the Sohmas---

"Haru! What's this?"

Momiji walked into the room carrying a large package. There was no return address on it, only two tiny letters.

_MT_

Haru shrugged, barely glancing at it as the smaller boy set it on the coffee table.

"Dunno…you sure it's for us?"

"Yeah, it was in our mailbox…"

"It could be for Hatori. Something for the meeting, maybe."

"But don't you think it's kinda strange?" Haru looked questionably at the german boy, who eagerly continued. "I mean, it came in when he was already at the meeting. If it was from someone there, you'd think they would have gotten it here earlier. And besides, it doesn't have anything on it to let us know who it is from. And it says it is to The Sohmas, not Hatori Sohma."

"I suppose you have a point there," Haru nodded. "Alright, let's check it out."

Grabbing a knife from the table (why it was there, no one really knew), he broke open the tape holding the top of the box together and opened it. At first glance, it looked empty. That is, until he slid a layer of cardboard that had been hiding the contents – revealing a very old book. He carefully pulled it out, trying not to break the delicate cover, and read the faded title outloud.

"Forsaken Grounds…I wonder why it's called that."

Momiji darted up excitedly, grinning like a hyena on laughing gas. "Come on, read it!"

"Alright, alright!" Dodging the boy's flying hands, he lay the book on the table and began to read.

_January 26__th__, 1976_

_Makai thought I was crazy, but I finally proved him wrong._

_At last, the answer is just beyond my reach. The answer to life, to death. The answer that could finally end God's curse._

'God's Curse?' Haru pondered with a slight frown, before shrugging to himself and continuing to read.

_God will pay for his wrongdoings, and I shall be the one to fix that punishment upon him._

_I know now what none of my ancestors succeeded in finding, and with this new knowledge, I will soon have all the answers._

The next few sentences were badly blurred and impossible to make out, but one more remained legible.

_The devil shall have his revenge._

Haru frowned again, and Momiji cocked an eyebrow, confused beyond belief. "What was that all about?" he asked, but received no more than a shrug as an answer. The cow's eyes were glued to a few words at the very bottom of the page. They had been scrawled hastily on the bottom of the page, recently by the look of the text:

_He is here._

---End Of Chapter---

So this was another short chapter, but I had no internet access when I wrote this, so I had to avoid going as far into the plot as I would have liked.

I received a new story alert and a favorite for Maelstrom and In The Dragon's Den respectively. Thank you so much for this! I couldn't stop grinning on the way to our hotel (we're spending thanksgiving at my aunts, and it was an over 5 hour drive down here.)

I won't say who it was for privacy reasons, but you know who you are anyway. Thank you for totally making my day! This chapter is dedicated to you, so I hope you enjoyed it!

One thing I wanted to clear up – the journals mentioned here are the Sohma journals (if Haru's speculation about the 'God's curse' hadn't already tipped you off). Also, I do know that they (namely Momiji and Haru) are out of character, but I kinda did that on purpose for the sake of the story. I do hope this didn't bug you too much, but if it did, please let me know!

Thank you for keeping up with Maelstrom. I hope you continue to enjoy this story as we start to get into the main plot.

-HK


	7. Attention All Readers

I know we are not supposed to put authors notes as chapters, but I have a question for those who read (or were reading) my stories.

I am considering starting both Maelstrom and Corrupted Hearts back up again, though I may upload new versions of the stories. Having these unfinished is really bugging me. But I want to know first if anyone would still want to read them.

Please let me know what you think. I will redo them if I can get 2 people (per story) to say they would like me to continue them.

Thanks,

HK


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